cielesz



March 29, 1955 w. J. CIELESZ HAIR-CURLING DEVICE Filed Aug. 29, 1952 WALTER J C/ELESZ A m /,1 m a. w. 71 7 1 Y 8 m AGENT United States Patent HAIR-CURLING DEVICE Walter J. Cielesz, Perth Amboy, N. J.

Application August 29, 1952, Serial No. 307,151

1 Claim. (Cl. 219-24) This invention relates to the art of permanent waving human hair. More particularly, it relates to a novel and improved electrical heating device adapted to supply heat in conjunction with the permanent waving process.

With the exception of the recently-introduced chemical or cold-wave techniques, most of the established methods for hair-waving require the application of external heat in one form or another in order to efiect the waving action. Such methods range from the mere direct application of a searing heat by means of a curling iron to the highly-refined techniques in present-day use, involving complicated and expensive machines equipped with a multitude of modified curling irons and designed to supply the regulated quantity of heat required to render effective the permanent waving agents with which they are employed.

More recently, there has been introduced to the art a series of cold-waving" or home-permanent processes, which have certain desirable features not possessed by the established methods, particularly the fact that they may, as implied, be applied in the home, without necessitating the use of expensive and cumbersome equipment and the requisite skill for operating the same.

These home-permanent processes, however, also suffer from a number of disadvantages which are wellknown to the art. Some of these processes involve the use of hazardous chemicals. Others make use of unpleasantly odoriferous treating agents. Still others produce an insuflicient degree of waving action, and many suffer from combinations of these disadvantages.

The demand has therefore arisen for a permanent waving method which would combine the advantages of the old and the newer methods, and make available to the home operator the established techiques and agents employed in the beauty parlor without the disadvantages characteristic of the usual home permanent.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved method for permanent-waving human hair. It is a further object to provide a hair-waving method which may be used in the home, by relatively unskilled operators. An additional object is to provide an apparatus and method for supplying heat in conjunction with the permanent waving of hair, which may be used in the home and which will approximate the action of the ordinary beauty-parlor permanent-wave machine. Other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more apparent from the following more complete description and claims.

In its broadest aspects, this invention contemplates a hair-curling device comprising a resistance-heated heating pad adapted to lie in juxtaposition with a curl wound up on a curling rod or mandrel, and a handle associated with said pad, whereby said pad may be moved from one location to another while hot without danger to the operator. In one desirable embodiment, this invention contemplates a device of the character described, wherein said handle is at a substantial angle to the axis of the cylindrical assembly formed by said pad and an associated curl. In another desirable embodiment, this invention contemplates a hair-curling device comprising a flexible heating-pad having a resistance element embedded therein, and a heat-insulated handle in association with said pad. In its most desirable and preferred embodiment, this invention contemplates a flexible heating pad adapted to lie in juxtaposition with a wound curl forming a substantially cylindrical assembly therewith, a heating member embedded in said pad, a heat-insulated elongated handle associated with said pad and having its longitudinal axis disposed at a substantial angle with the axis of said cylindrical assembly when said curling device is in operating position, and a pair of electrical leads extending longitudinally through said handle and operatively connected with said heating member.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a plan view of a typical embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 represents a flexible resistance-heated pad, 2 an elongated handle, 3 a two-conductor lead wire which serves to supply the required electric current, and 4 a pair of metal collars by means of which the assembly is held together.

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in perspective, of the same embodiment of the invention, showing the heating pad partially flexed toward its substantially cylindrical operating position.

Figure 3 is a partly diagrammatic horizontal cross-section of the handle portion of the device taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing the manner of connecting the two-conductor electrical lead with resistance leads 5. The two points of juncture of the two conductors of 3 with the two resistance leads 5 are illustrated as being longitudinally separated by a short space, e. g. about onehalf inch, in accordance with good electrical practice, and this manner of construction is preferred. Resistance leads 5 are in turn connected with the terminals of the resistance heating elements 6, which are embedded in heating pad 1 (not shown in Figure 3).

Figure 4 shows another horizontal elevation of the heating pad, partially cut away to show the relative dispositions of the resistance heating elements 6 and the heat-conducting, electrically-insulating facing layers 7 in which they are contained or embedded.

The manner of use of the device of this invention is analogous to the standard techniques employed with other heat sources; the curl is wound (either helically or Croquignole fashion), upon a curling-rod or mandrel, clipped or clamped in position, and wet with a suitable waving solution. Commonly and preferably, the wound curl is then wrapped in an absorbent jacket consisting of a small piece of flannel, blotting-paper or the like, which is also wet with the waving solution. The curl, with or without its absorbent jacket, is then enclosed in the heating-pad portion of the present device, and the whole is clamped in place, for example, by a standard springclamp or the like.

The heating pad may be of any convenient shape and dimensions, but should be of such a size as to enable it to contact most of the surface of a wound curl without an undue amount of exposed curl area, and without, on the other hand, a cumbersome and wasteful amount of unused heating-pad area. Moreover, it should be capable of lying in close contact with substantially all of the exposed surface of the curl, and to this end it may be of jointed construction, or if rigid, should be of cylindrical form adapted to be slid longitudinally on the end of a wound curl. In the most convenient and preferred embodiment, however, the heating pad is composed throughout of flexible materials, so that it may easily be deformed to assume the shape of the particular curl being treated. The resistance-heating elements 6, in this embodiment, should, therefore, be made of a resistance-wire capable of withstanding repeated fiexion, such as the types designed for such service, consisting of interbraided smallgauge wire or ribbon and asbestos, fiber glass or the like. The electrically-insulating, heat-conducting facing layers 7, in which the resistance-heating elements 6 are contained or embedded, may likewise be composed of a variety of flexible materials, provided they will withstand the combined effects of heat, fiexion, and the chemical waving agents. If desired, the lower facing layer 7 may be omitted from the construction, provided the resistanceheating elements 6 are still suitably insulated, for example by being encased in an electrically insulating sheathing or insulation such as braided fiber glass tube. It is preferred to have the upper facing layer 7 consist of asbestos paper or other poor heat-conductor, so as to direct most of the heat in toward the curl. Although many possible materials of construction will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, it has been found most convenient and economical to use a material such as asbestos paper and to protect the same against permeation by the waving agent by a layer of flexible metal foil or the like, which is preferably mounted directly and permanently on the surface of the heating pad, but may also take the form of a disposable bag of metal foil.

In use, the heating pad is held in close contact with the curl being treated by any convenient means, a variety of which are known to the art. For example, the heating pad may be equipped with internal resilient means, such as a spring, to resiliently urge the surface of the pad into contact with the curl, and external lever means to manually oppose the force of the spring. To simplify construction and repair, however, it is preferred to construct the heating pad simply as shown in the drawings, and to use altogether separate yieldable means such as an ordinary spring-type paper clamp (such as the type commonly used in business oflices) to supply the desired holding force.

The function of the handle member is threefold; it serves the ordinary function of a handle member as a means of holding and transporting the device, for example to fix it in operative position; it serves as a container for the electrical lead elements, whereby they are protected and whereby the operator and the subject are protected from accidental con-tact with the current-carrying members, in case of failure of the electrical insulation, and it serves to protect the operator from the heat generated by resistance leads 5, to the end that the device may be transported from curl to curl or from one subject to another, without waiting for the device to cool in place, clamped on the first curl. This feature renders the device especially attractive compared with most known types of equipment for the home-permanent field, and also is particularly advantageous in the beauty-parlor, for example in the setting of replacement curls, to lengthen useful life of a previous complete wave. To fulfill these various functions in the most desirable and preferred manner, the handle member 2 should be constructed of a material which is resistant to the passage of both heat and electricity, and which is at least suificiently rigidto support the Weight of the heating pad and associated elements when supported at the end remote from the heating pad, and to support the free weight of the electrical lead wires when supported at the heating-pad end, as when in operative position on the subjects head, for example. Suitable materials for the construction of the handle member have been found to be rubber, Bakelite or other thermosetting resins, wood or the like. The heat-insulating properties of the handle member should be such as to maintain the surface of the handle at a temperature comfortable to the hand (e. g. 40 C. or less) under the highest temperatures reached by the resistance leads 5 under conditions of continuous use. This will in turn be dependent largely upon the length and resistance values of the resistance leads 5, as discussed hereinafter.

It is preferred to maintain the voltage drop across the resistance heating elements 6 at a sufliciently low value to substantially minimize the shock hazard involved, i. e. below 40 and preferably below 15 volts. It is also preferred to use as the primary current supply the normal household supply current prevailing in the area of use, e. g. 110 volts A. C., 110 volts D. C., 220 volts A. C., or the like. The required value for the resistance of the resistance leads, therefore, will depend to some extent upon the particular voltage drop selected for the resistance heating elements 6, and partially upon the length of the handle member (assuming that the resistance leads are connected to the two-conductor supply line at a point adjacent the upper end of the handle member). Since it is desired to keep the high-voltage portion of the circuit substantially removed from the head of the subject, the resistance leads 5 should be connected to the supply-line 4 at a point adjacent the upper end of the handle member.

It is, therefore, preferred to use for the resistance leads 5 a resistance Wire of such resistance that the length required to achieve the desired voltage drop is approximately equal to the combined distance from the two supply-line terminals to the two terminals of the resistance wire of lower resistance and coil or loop the requiredlength thereof in to the core of the handle member, or' to use wire of a higher resistance value, and join the resistance leads 5 to the resistance heating element 6 by means of a low-resistance copper wire or the like.

The resistance leads must of course be insulated one from the other. Such insulation (which has been omitted from Figure 3 in the interests of clarity) may take any conventional form, providing it is capable of withstanding the temperatures involved. Suitable insulating materials for the resistance leads have been found to be ceramic tubing, vinyl resin spaghetti, phenolic insulating varnishes, braided cloth or fiber glass, and the like.

For best results and greatest convenience, the handle member should not be shorter than about three, nor longer than about eight inches, since shorter handles are inconvenient to handle when hot, and longer ones impose an undue strain upon the scalp.

A particularly desirable embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the handle member forms an angle with the axis of the substantially cylindrical assembly formed by a mandrel or curler with a curl wrapped therearound and the heating pad around said curl. In such an embodiment, the high-voltage end of the resistance leads, as well as the primary current-supply wires, are held away from the head by a space which depends upon the magnitude of the angle and the length of the handle member. This separation is highly desirable because it further reduces the shock hazard in case of deterioration of the insulation after long use. In general, it is preferred to have the angle between the axis of the handle and the axis of the curl between about 10 and about 20 degrees, and the vertical distance from the upper end of the handle to a line passing through the axis of the curl between about and about 1% inches. Such an arrangement has been found to give adequate separation of the upper end of the handle from the head, without creating undue strain on the scalp, which normally supports the weight of the assembly. In particular, it is preferred not to have the angle between the axis of the curl and the axis of the handle too great, since such an arrangement, while it equalizes the strain on the scalp, encourages the handle to flop over sideways, that is to rotate about the axis of the curl, and thus defeat the purpose of the angled-handle.

While this invention has been described with reference to certain specific and preferred embodiments, other modifications and variations will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and the invention is not to be construed as limited thereby, except as recited in the following claim.

I claim:

A hair-curling device comprising a flexible heating pad adapted to lie in juxtaposition with a wound curl, an electrical heating member associated with said pad, an elongated flexible handle associated at one end with said pad and with the axis of the handle and the axis of the heater at an angle of from 10 to 20 degrees, and electrical leads extending longitudinally through said handle and supplying current from an external supply to said heating member, said leads consisting at least partially of resistance wire and operative to reduce the voltage to said heating member to a value of 40 volts or less from the normal power.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 16,013 Simmons Mar. 3, 1925 2,051,689 Durham et a1. Aug. 18, 1936 2,316,505 De Bry, Ir Apr. 13, 1943 2,326,141 Hall Aug. 10, 1943 2,500,554 MacDonald et al Mar. 14, 1950 2,621,280 Judd Dec. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 723,769 France Ian. 19, 1932 748,135 France Apr. 10, 1933 

